Like 'Flappy Bird,' 'Color Switch' is a game you can't put down

Have we found our next Flappy Bird?

Nearly two years ago, the mobile game owned Apple and Android smartphones with a simple concept, fly a bird between a series of pipes, yet would punish players for the slightest misstep — or mistap.

Launched nearly two months ago, the free puzzle game Color Switch has zoomed to the top of app store charts for the same reasons as Flappy Bird: It’s easy to play yet grows tougher the further you advance.

Color Switch features a ball users move through a series of obstacles by tapping on the touch-screen. The rate at which you tap the screen determines how fast or slow the ball moves up the screen. Like Flappy Bird, players must keep the ball afloat by tapping the screen.

But here’s the twist: Players can only pass through sections of the obstacle that match the color of your ball. For example, let’s say you start with a pink ball and you come across a rotating square, with each side sporting a different color. The pink ball can only pass through the pink side of the square, which means juggling the ball inside the obstacle once the pink wall spins to the other side.

Obstacles vary in shapes, size and movement, but so long as the ball passes a section of the obstacle with a matching color, players are safe. If not, they start over. Obstacles come in circular or triangular shapes and grow even more complex the deeper you go. Players sometimes pass multicolored circles in between obstacles that change the color of the ball.

Each obstacle carries a star players earn after they safely pass. Color Switch’s main game mode lets players collect as many stars as possible. There’s also a Challenge mode where players tackle a series of basic challenges, plus a Race Mode where players race a “ghost” ball through a series of obstacles.

Players can use their stars to change their ball into another shape, like a square or a thumbs-up emoji. Along with earnings stars during a game, players can watch ads to collect more.

So what makes Color Switch difficult to quit? It’s the urge to bump that high score up one or two more stars, or pushing into those tougher Challenges or Races. It’s a clever game that rewards focus and patience. It's your next must-have mobile diversion.

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.